Sketches from Formosa.

II
HAVING A BRIEF HOLIDAY
IT was about the middle of the fourth month after my
arrival in Taiwan-fu that I started for Takow, to accom-
pany Mr. Ritchie through that part
of the field under his
care, and then return by way of the four hill-stations
I visited at the close of the year. My Chinese teacher
did not travel with me, but I found Mr. Lim Kiam-kim
(a young man who had come over from the Pescadores)
very helpful in enabling me to continue my study of the
language. When within about three miles of Takow,
the pleasantness of the change began very speedily to
be felt. The hot, sultry stillness of the city
is left behind :
the mere sight of Ape's Hill and of the lagoon is a treat ;
while the sea, with its cool, refreshing breezes, affords the
welcomest relief after one's first months of Taiwan-fu.
The day after my arrival a circular notice was sent to
the various places of business, announcing that I would
conduct an English service on the following Sabbath ;
but, from the shipping in the harbour and about half a
score of European residences, only four persons responded
to the invitation. I fear that our fellow-countrymen in
the East have their own difficulties to contend with in
trying to live up to the full measure of their responsibilties.
Where the community happens to be large, an English
and business matters are so
Chaplain is usually engaged,
arranged that the Sabbath can really be a day of rest
in the Scripture sense of the word. At small isolated
centres, however, no stated religious services can be
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